Engine-in Day!

First of all, a very happy 65th birthday to my dear friend John. I hope you got what you were promised from Monique!

Went to the track yesterday and got gobbled up by an Indy car. This is what happens when a Lotus Elise meets a full-blown race car. I did point him by, but after that I was trying, honest!

Before we get to the engine, I did speak with Westfield about the side impact bars. It turns out they do not fit on the S2000 model and will need modification, due to the dropped floor. Also, the front mount has nothing to mount to. They are looking into it.

So, back to the engine.

You need to remove the steering column and the ARB to get the engine in, that is clear. I was hoping that I could leave the radiator in, but I quickly realized that I couldn't get the engine far enough back with the radiator in place, so off it came - no big deal, a two minute job.

I decided not to fit the mounts on the engine, but to locate them on the chassis - I figured this would give additional clearance to get the engine in - it is quite a lump. In retrospect, I think the best approach is to leave everything off and fit both the rubber bobbins and the mounts once the engine is more or less in place - that is what I ended up doing.

A load leveller is essential. Even with that, I had to jack up the rear of the car.  I had a few problems - first one of the engine loom connections snagged - hopefully I didn't do any damage. I had left the rear support for the fuel rail in place - that was catching, so it had to come out. Then there was a bracket mounted on the gearbox that I had not removed - on the left hand side, it stopped rearward progress. None of the other builders had mentioned it so I had not thought about it - fortunately, I could take it off without having to pull the engine out. The offending bracket is shown to the left - I am not sure what it is for, but it is not needed on the Westfield, so off it came.

I was hoping I could get the engine in with the exhaust manifold on - you can, but you need to tilt the engine significantly to the left to do it - it is not for the faint at heart - it is an extremely tight fit, as the alternator on the other side snags on the chassis rail and brake line. I did manage to do it though, after removing the heat shields. If I had to do it again, I would remove the manifold (or not fit it in the first place).

Don't let anybody tell you otherwise, it is an extremely tight fit.

I think I will have to reroute the fuel pipes - I had taken them through the tunnel and then under the gearbox mount:

They just touch the gearbox at the point where the nub has been taken off. A better approach is to take them further back in the tunnel and then down after the gearbox mount, where there is more room. I think I will cut them and put in flexible hoses, it seems a lot easier. It is just too crowded at the point I ran the lines out:

Also, if you fit the ABS panel with the footrest on the right hand tunnel, it snags on the gearbox - Westfield have only just provided me with the correct aluminum plate - if you are building a LHD car make sure you have two aluminum footwell plates and do not use the moulded ABS one with the footrest. I will leave it as is for the moment, but it is less than satisfactory.

Apart from those minor problems, it all went fairly smoothly. The gearbox mounts were a non-issue - I secured the engine mounts and then reached down in the transmission tunnel and drilled the gearbox mount holes through the gearbox mount. I then jacked up the gearbox and was able to slip the rubber mounts in easily enough. It did need a fairly slim drill though - my cordless drill wouldn't work, so I used a pneumatic drill instead which worked a treat.

I didn't bleed the clutch on the way in, as other builders have suggested. As I have the luxury of a four-post lift, I figure I should be able to get at the bleed nipple from below - we will see tomorrow. All in all, it is a pretty formidable looking beast. However, I doubt it will keep up with the Indy car!

I even test fitted a couple of panels. Because the rear bulkhead isn't in yet, I can't fit the panels permanently, but I think I will mock everything up tomorrow, using my trusty Clecos.

Here is an updated time-lapse, including getting the car out of the courtyard and inserting the engine. A new video starts tomorrow.

The last two days have been very taxing woking alone. Ron T. I could have done with your help. Shame you are not here!

With a bit of luck, tomorrow it will look like a real car.